Bacterial diversity of sub-tropical coastal water exposed to oil and/or dispersants

In conjunction with two large mesocosm experiments, sub-samples were analyzed to determine the impact of oil, dispersant and dispersed oil on the bacterial community. Using 16S rRNA gene tags, it was determined that the bacterial community responded differently to oil in the presence of dispersant or to dispersant alone. The response timing and extent varied between the two experiments indicating the initial conditions have a large impact on the response of the community. Genetic sequencing data can be found at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Traces/sra/sra.cgi?study=SRP020514